Two Syrian Journalists, IS Foes, Killed in Turkey

Two Syrian journalists and activists who opposed the Islamic State and the Syrian government, have been killed in southeastern Turkey.

One of the dead men, Ibrahim Abdulkadir, was managing editor of the Syrian newspaper Ayn Vatan. The other, Firaz Hamadi, was a reporter for the same newspaper, which began as a publication that denounced the Assad regime and later became known for its outspoken and harsh criticism of IS militants.

According to some Turkish newspaper reports, the men were beheaded. One account said a "Rambo-style" knife was used to kill the pair, who were said to be natives of Raqqa, the Syrian city that Islamic State has used as its de-facto "capital."

The group "Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently", which campaigns against the Assad regime and the Islamic State, tweeted about the deaths of journalists Ibrahim Abdulkadir and Firaz Hamadi.

The journalists' bodies were found early Friday, but it is unclear when the men, both in their 20s, were killed.

They had been sharing an apartment in the Ataturk district of Sanliurfa, a Turkish city 55 kilometers from the Syrian border.

Some media reports described the two as members of Free Syrian Army, a Western-backed rebel group fighting against the Assad regime.

Activists said the dead men were members of a group known as "Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently", which documents torture and other abuses by Islamic State members in Raqqa.